CH 38

Twin Fish [Translator]18-23 minutes

All of the guests were seated, and the awards ceremony began.

First up was the opening performance. Kellerman sang a song along with two other singers. The Xilin Film Festival’s style had always been rather casual. There weren’t that many rules. JuSH64

This could be seen from the red carpet segment, and it could be seen from the opening performance as well. There wasn’t much in terms of rehearsals, and the singers were free to perform however they liked.

There had even been performers who would sing an extra encore or two in years past.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Either way, the live band was practiced and experienced, so they were more than capable of picking up anything that was thrown at them.

The atmosphere within the venue was very good. The singers all had solid singing skills, so they were masters when it came to capturing the audience’s attention. mF95JD

Just one of them was enough to drive audiences insane. However, now that several of them were gathered together, they could mix high notes with low notes in perfect harmony. It was simply a feast for both the ears and the eyes.

They danced as they sang and gradually danced their way off-stage in time with the rhythm. They walked down the stairs and weaved their way through the crowd in three separate directions.

There were several round tables arranged off-stage. Each of them had champagne and decorative vases. Each vase had roses arranged within them.

The three singers didn’t look at each other. They didn’t know where the others were, but the sound of each other’s voices was enough.

OC7fGH

The tempo of the music was very fast. There were some people who couldn’t help but dance along. The atmosphere within the venue was electric. They had been completely taken in by the music.

Kellerman had practiced Latin dance ever since he was a child. He swung his hips and enthusiastically danced through the audience. Every now and then, he would lock eyes with someone and interact with the crowd.

Sometimes, the screen would show the entire venue. Sometimes, it would show a close-up. The camera cut between these three people.

The comments were also getting livelier. T6pBPr

[What kind of godly collab is this? Xilin really outdid themselves this time! Keep it up! Don’t stop!]

[I’m crazy jealous. They’re all my favorite singers. Keke’s hair flip was amazing. She looks invincible! Little Dimple’s blue eyes are also so, so pretty!]

[Little Dimple’s turning the film festival into a club again. I want to be there so bad.]

[The most impressive one is definitely Keke. That hair flip killed me! The most stable one is Beer. The sexiest one is Little Dimple, as expected of a Latin dancer.] sH3YZX

[Hello, everyone. I’m a Latin dancer. Later, I won a Grammy Award.]

[Speaking of which, why is Little Dimple heading towards the corner…]

Kellerman was indeed walking further and further into the corner. He plucked a red rose from one of the tables next to him and put it behind his ear.

It just so happened to be his part in the song. After his part, there would be a fast-paced dance break. 04tERG

Kellerman took the red rose out from behind his ear and bit it in his mouth. Then, he twirled and started dancing to the rhythm. It wasn’t exactly standard Latin dancing. In fact, it wasn’t any kind of dance in particular. He was just in high spirits and dancing however he felt like dancing.

The camera director also took notice of Kellerman’s excitement. He decisively cut the camera to Kellerman.

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Kellerman went around another table and arrived at the very corner of the venue.

It was the corner where Gu Qingchi was sitting. Gu Qingchi had been drinking the entire time. He had just put down the glass. The glass was still half-full, but the waiter diligently filled it back up for him. CRb5MO

By the time Kellerman made it over there, he had just picked up the glass. He leaned back very naturally. The wine in the glass slightly swayed along with his movements.

Kellerman stood to his side. Gu Qingchi turned towards his direction. He raised his eyes, and the two of them made eye contact.

The big screen on stage was displaying the same image as the broadcast. It just happened to catch this scene.

Kellerman had the rose in his mouth and smiled, revealing a small dimple on his left cheek. 2rUR6g

He stared at Gu Qingchi. Then, he took the rose and placed it on the table in front of Gu Qingchi.

The song had reached a singing part.

Kellerman put a hand before his heart and sang.

“Honey, I’m captivated by you.” Dciky1

He changed the words on the spot, and they just so happened to rhyme.

Keke, who was ten or so meters away, and the other singer, Beer, followed along.

They sang the harmony for him.

Bfxf’r tlut cbafr kfgf nfgs rafjvs. Bfiifgwjc’r rajgalcu qlamt tjvc’a yffc qjgalmeijgis ibk, sfa rtf vlv cba kjnfg bcmf. Lfg tlut cbaf xfqa glrlcu eq jcv eq jcv eq atf rmjif obg wbgf atjc afc rfmbcvr. urzDaq

Ktf jawbrqtfgf klatlc atf nfcef tjv yffc qertfv ab j milwjz. Mlcjiis, Bfiifgwjc gfiemajcais mlgmifv jgbecv Xe Hlcumtl jcv kjixfv yjmx abkjgvr atf rajuf. Snfc rb, atf vlgfmabg xfqa jlwlcu atf mjwfgj ja Xe Hlcumtl.

Comments sections everywhere immediately exploded.

[I don’t know whether I should be jealous of the guy who got the rose or Little Dimple.]

[It’s my idol! Little Dimple, back off! I saw him first!] lFndgL

[It’s so flirty! He sent him a rose! Also, don’t bully me for not knowing this song, but is this how it’s supposed to be sung? Is it really? Earlier, everyone was singing together, so how come it’s suddenly become a confession!?]

[Although, it really does sound super good. It sounds even better than before, in my personal opinion.]

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Xie Luyu, who had been calm before, suddenly couldn’t sit still.

However, the awards ceremony had just begun. There were cameras everywhere. This was especially true for superstars like Xie Luyu. They were the main focus of everyone’s attention. 6iXyL2

Even if Xie Luyu was reckless and impulsive, he still didn’t want to make headlines before the Xilin Film Festival had even ended.

However, he definitely wasn’t going to be able to stay calm. He probably wasn’t going to be calm for the rest of his life.

He put his legs down and sat up straight. He was like a big dog asking for a bone. The bone was two meters away, but the rope around its neck was only a meter and a half long.

On the outside, he was still pretending like it was business as usual. 0WHb5B

On the inside, however, he was puffed up like a pufferfish.

Back in China, there was a famous gossip account that broke the news.

The title of their post read: No Matter How Pretty Your Face Is, It Can’t Cover Up A Nasty Personality.

[There’s a certain idol with a last name starting with “g”. He marketed himself as a worldly beauty. He had gone viral just recently and ended up debuting. People within the circle know exactly what kind of tricks he’s been using. QWdONU

To be honest, this doesn’t really count as something to criticize him for. Everyone has times where they need to promote themselves. It’s just that it gets kind of annoying to see this kind of thing everyday.

These days, he’s been able to make some ripples within the circle. He even managed to get himself a pretty good role in a movie. Who would’ve thought? He gets to act with a movie emperor. I thought that, with resources like that, he’s going to at least reign himself in a little bit, right?

Except he didn’t. In fact, he’s even more reckless than before. He used to have three or four assistants following him around and his temper isn’t any good either. He’s super pretentious. He’ll hit and curse at his assistants. If an ordinary person had something come up in the middle of the night, they would get up and do it themselves. He doesn’t. Instead, he insists on waking others up and making them do it for him.

Now, he’s becoming even worse. Normal service isn’t enough for him anymore. He makes his assistant kneel when they serve him. In Chinese culture, people only kneel down for god and for their parents. No matter what the circumstances are, they shouldn’t be forced to kneel. Isn’t this an insult to their dignity? rTnS7i

The assistant also has parents who love and care for them. What makes you so special?

Is the Xilin Film Festival well-known? Of course it is! It’s internationally recognized. It’s not a place where any run-of-the-mill movie can butt its way in. Not just anyone can come back with an award. Even someone like Wang Yingling has only just recently qualified to attend.

This idol shamelessly came to mooch off the red carpet. This isn’t a big deal in and of itself. After all, it happens all the time. It’s hard to criticize something like this. But you shouldn’t have cut in front of Kellerman.

Not only did you cut in line, you took several minutes just to finish walking across a few meters of carpet, only leaving once someone came to drive you away. 4K5bPc

You’ve embarrassed the entire nation.

I don’t have the heart to watch.

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I won’t name names here. Everyone can guess for themselves. I just really couldn’t stand it anymore. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone at him like this. I’m sure someone’s going to come and whitewash him soon. You can cuss me out as much as you like. The truth of the matter still stands.]

Not too long after this post was sent out, the number of comments started building up. Most of them were high-level water army who were there to move the conversation in a certain direction. J4G2rC

[Ummm, I think I know who it is. I actually liked the movie he was in. I really didn’t expect this.]

[What kind of nobody is cutting in front of our Little Dimple? He’s so shameless. No wonder he isn’t popular.]

There were also ordinary people who accidentally came across this post.

[? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand?] wPt6cA

As soon as someone said this, an “enthusiastic netizen” immediately showed up to explain it to them.

[I’ve attached a photo. No need to thank me.]

This reply was accompanied by a photo taken at the venue. Xiao Ke was squatting, and Gu Qingchi was standing. The camera angle wasn’t too bad. Gu Qingchi had his head slightly turned and was looking ahead. He exuded a noble and aristocratic kind of feeling.

Half of Wang Yingling’s skirt could be seen within frame. YMySVk

Then, there was Kellerman who had just walked onto the red carpet. He was gesturing with his hands as he spoke to his companion. His eyes held a bit of shock within them. Right in front of him was Gu Qingchi.

There was also another photo of the security guard as he gestured for Gu Qingchi to move ahead.

Gu Qingchi looked a little unhappy.

At first, there were some netizens who were filled with righteous indignation after reading the post. eOHob

[How is he a “fairy”? You don’t deserve the title. Please fuck out of the entertainment industry as soon as possible.]

[Not even Xie ge is that impulsive. He at least gets along well with his assistants.]

[This is so embarrassing. He actually ended up getting chased off.]

Then, they clicked into the comments. Once they saw the image someone else posted, the conversation started going off the rails. PxdvGD

[…Don’t get mad at me, but he gives me a cute, arrogant, ill-tempered young master kind of vibe. I kind of like it.]

[Well, at least he’s honest about his bad personality. Fine, I admit that I’m a deadbeat face-con.]

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

[When I saw the frame with the security guard in it, I knew that I couldn’t blame it on the camera or the filter.]

[This is the first time I’ve understood what it means to look good from the back… Of course, I can’t forgive the bad things he’s done.] FSB 8G

[What’s with all of you? So what if he looks good?]

Someone else weakly replied to her.

[But I just looked him up, and he’s seriously pretty. Look at this photo.]

She posted a GIF of Gu Qingchi. It just so happened to be one of the GIFs released by the film crew. Gu Qingchi turned his head towards the camera and smiled. R1Bdch

Still, OP was firm about her stance.

[A bad personality isn’t something that can be forgiven. You guys are flattering him and complimenting him, but he might not even appreciate it. He might be ordering his assistant to put his shoes on for him right this very instant. He might even find this photo unflattering and personally send me a high definition photo of himself.]

[OP, I went along with what you said and came up with a 30,000 word smut fanfic in my head, putting on his shoes, touching his feet, etc. Also, him getting punished by his senior for being too arrogant.]

[Even after getting punished by his senior, he still isn’t willing to admit that he was wrong, so he gets punished over and over again. He wants to cry but he can’t, so he bites his lips, refusing to admit to his mistakes.] qELaz7

[I suspect that you’re being inappropriate, but I don’t have any evidence.]

[Reported for inappropriate content!]

Soon after that, Kellerman’s fans quickly arrived at the scene. They all had rose-colored glasses when it came to their idol, so they weren’t so easily swayed by Gu Qingchi’s beauty.

The other side was also very firm in their opinion. 8gmrE0

The two different sides quickly started hashing it out in the comments section.

Afterwards, Gu Qingchi’s fans also arrived.

However, the gossip account held the moral high ground, so they were naturally weaker in terms of fighting power.

The Xilin Film Festival was still halfway through the event. Anything that was related to it was naturally a hot topic. They ended up arguing their way onto the tail end of the trending list. qv1ZiS

Just as the argument was reaching a boiling point, someone shared a Weibo post. It was accompanied by a picture.

In the picture, Gu Qingchi was covering Xiao Ke with a blanket.

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As for the accompanying text.

[I couldn’t help but take a photo when I ran into him on the plane. I forgot to turn off the camera shutter, which was super embarrassing, but he didn’t pursue it. He was pretty nice. Someone in front of me took a picture of an actress. Not only was he asked to delete it, but he also ended up getting cursed out in front of everyone. That’s why I’m really confused about what’s going on. The entertainment circle sure is complicated. Plus, I didn’t even intend to take his photo. My girlfriend was next to me and really wanted it. Anyway, I’m just putting my opinion out there. Don’t cuss me out too much.] bw0axm

The person who posted this was an old account of many years. A few days ago, he said that he was going to go abroad and posted about it. There was even a post about running into a celebrity on the plane.

So it was very convincing.

Soon after, netizens managed to dig up a photo that a reporter had posted.

Gu Qingchi was pushing the luggage cart on his own. Xiao Ke walked beside him. She was looking up at him and saying something. aw7dc5

[He obviously takes very good care of his assistant. What were those water army thinking?]

[My Chi Chi has always been very good. He’s super polite, okay?]

[Interesting. Can the gossip account come out and explain yourself?]

The gossip account was playing dead. wkCbOc

The netizens commented.

[I really like this tide reversal.]

[Best piece of entertainment all night.]

Wang Yingling still wasn’t giving up. However, they were busy manipulating public opinion. They didn’t have time to watch the live broadcast, so they actually weren’t very clear about the situation at the venue. gVD2c

That was why they were boldly making baseless claims. If this topic wasn’t going to work, they would turn towards the carpet mooching topic.

[It’s super embarrassing that he attended just for the publicity. They even drove him off the red carpet.]

[Well, at least it’s true he cut in line, right? After all, it’s not like Kellerman’s the one trying to disparage him, right?]

At the moment, everyone who was watching the film festival and knew what had happened was busy watching the live broadcast. DkiAEp

No one refuted them, and this topic of conversation ended up getting carried away.

That was until a very well-known media personality, Zheng Che, spoke up. He was a long-time senior within the industry. The more famous a person was, the more straightforward they were with their words. However, most usually chose not to speak up.

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[I’m at the Xilin Film Festival. The guests are entering the venue. I was bored waiting around outside and decided to check my phone. I didn’t expect to see such a farce. Fine, you don’t have to name any names.

I’ll do it for you. Gu Qingchi’s pretty good. As far as I know, none of the hype is fake. It’s all real internet traffic. YU2RCl

It’s pretty incredible. He’s a bona fide outsider who managed to make it in the circle.

He’s also one of the few low-key individuals within the circle.

His agent is also pretty good. He doesn’t do stuff like this.

I don’t know what his temper’s like. He’s too low-key. I haven’t heard anything about it. However, people have already posted the photos, so I won’t say anything more. From what I can tell, the pictures are real. They weren’t bought. dRuTj3

In addition, he’s not here to mooch off the red carpet. He has a nomination. He’s just too low-key, so he didn’t flaunt it around online.

As for the issue about cutting in line, this is a misunderstanding. Someone did cut in line, but it wasn’t him. Kellerman was just late.

Fans of his can stop arguing over nothing. Go watch the livestream. Those who are well-informed are already there watching your Little Dimple send Gu Qingchi flowers.

The issue regarding him being chased off the red carpet is also fake. Someone was chased off the carpet, but it wasn’t him. It’s the same person who jumped in line. vkV Sz

A certain actress with a last name starting with “w”.

I won’t name names here. Everyone can guess for themselves. I just really couldn’t stand it anymore.

In other news, I’ve really opened my eyes today. I’ve seen people get chased off the red carpet before, but I’ve never seen photographers protest and insist that someone be invited back onto the red carpet.

It was truly impressive.] Frp3BS

After sending out the post, Zheng Che looked it over one more time. He made sure that everything was spelled correctly and then closed out of the app.

“Why haven’t you hung up yet? Can you stop blowing up my phone bill? International phone calls are expensive.”

Xie Luyu raised a hand to his earphone.

“Don’t mess with me. I made the phone call, so it’s on my bill.” 1fPjX8

“Then I’ll be honest. I just don’t want to talk to you. I’m already way too old for this. You’re going to be the death of me.”

“I didn’t make you lie or anything. We’re just looking after a newcomer with lots of potential. How is making a Weibo post going to be the death of you?”

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“Who was it that said he would screenshot our WeChat records and post them on Weibo? Forget it. I can’t believe you’re on Weibo during an awards ceremony. Try not to embarrass yourself, okay? Behave yourself while you’re in there.”

Actually, Xie Luyu was on Weibo checking whether there was anything regarding Gu Qingchi. “Isn’t it only natural to look after the future or our nation? We should at least look after the youngsters a little bit.” 4gJACI

Zheng Che: “You’re doing too much.”